Andrew Willinger

Thrilled that my article Private Governance and Originalism will be published in the Stanford Law Review @stanlrev.bsky.social! The article explains why private groups including schools, corps & other orgs create unique challenges (and opportunities) under originalist "history & tradition" tests

This week's Research Dean spotlight: @jvagle.me, GSU's foremost expert at the intersection of law and technology, including privacy rights and AI. His latest online essay for the Stan. L. Rev: "AI Agnotology, Cognitive Surrender, and Policing Accountability" www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/ai-ag...

statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

A lot to say about Judge VanDyke's most recent "dissental," but pushing the idea that Bruen is "easy" is especially bizarre in a knife-ban case given the volume and variety of knife restrictions in 19th century America...

With the news that the 5th Cir will hear en banc arguments in a 922(g) commerce clause case, this blog post may be of interest. In short, there are complex debates about the original intent of the CC and accepting D’s argument will have major impacts beyond guns. firearmslaw.duke.edu/2023/11/rahi...

Why Lower Courts Agree on AR-15 Bans and Why it May Not Matter (Ft. @andrewwillinger.bsky.social) thereload.fireside.fm/why-lower-co...

Wolford might represent a major change to step one of Bruen, but lower courts have already been subtly expanding the definition of "arms"... including the 5th Cir in a recent decision I blogged about @dukefirearmslaw.bsky.social: firearmslaw.duke.edu/2026/06/how-...

Justice Alito yesterday in Wolford vs Justice Alito in 2020 in Ramos 🤔

Enjoyed speaking with June Grasso @bloomberglaw.com today for some quick reactions to the Supreme Court‘s decision in Wolford v. Lopez - check it out here! www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2...

Okay, so now that I've finished all the opinions and thought about it more, here are some of my takeaways: 1) This opinion is a disaster. It changes a bunch of the Bruen methodology, sometimes in subtle ways, but all in ways that make it *much* more difficult for legislatures to regulate guns.

Pleased to post my draft article, “Discovering the Historical Anglo-American Constitution.” I study the history of birthright citizenship from the 1100s to the 1700s. The English common-law rule of natural-born subjects was always tied to territory and jurisdiction. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Last week, the Center co-hosted its 7th (!) annual Work-in-Progress conference with scholars across the country, including @jacobdcharles.bsky.social, @gowder.io, @coreyryung.bsky.social, @meganwalshgvp.bsky.social and many others! Thanks to our attendees for their illuminating discussions.

Supreme Court opinions are coming! And Georgia State’s experts are at the ready to help provide analysis for some of the most awaited decisions, including @andrewwillinger.bsky.social, @jvagle.me, and @espinsegall.bsky.social, in addition to me. news.gsu.edu/2026/05/20/g...

SCOTUS' history and tradition turn raises thorny questions about what to do w/old laws tainted by discrimination, including in 2 cases this term where the gov't has taken polar opposite approaches. Read on for more from me @dukefirearmslaw.bsky.social today... firearmslaw.duke.edu/2026/04/tain...

As profs are lining up courses & casebooks for next year, I want to plug again the Second Amendment casebook that I & Blocher Madeira & Miller wrote. 📖👇 2A Law is an increasingly impt area of conlaw & today's law students show tons of interest in the topic. faculty.westacademic.com/Book/Detail?...

From the Second Amendment to voting rights to birthright citizenship, major decisions from the Supreme Court will have great significance for the American public. GSU Bondurant Center's experts are gearing up for them all, including @andrewwillinger.bsky.social and @espinsegall.bsky.social.

I blogged at @dukefirearmslaw.bsky.social about 9th Cir. Judge Lawrence VanDyke and his unusual style of judicial opinion writing, which some have labeled "post modern." Check it out here 👇 firearmslaw.duke.edu/2026/04/post...

NEW: I wrote up a short, breezy 3,700 word post for @dukefirearmslaw.bsky.social blog w/ reactions to the Supreme Court's oral arguments in US v. Hemani earlier this week. I may be overly optimistic about getting some coherence in Second Amendment doctrine. firearmslaw.duke.edu/2026/03/brea...

A major theme of yesterday's Hemani 2A arg: under Bruen can courts *ever* weigh the govt's leg judgment that certain groups (like drug users) are too dangerous to have guns. I've argued these assessments are inevitable even w/history-focused approaches... www.wakeforestlawreview.com/wp-content/u...

Proud to announce the opening of the Emmet Bondurant Center for Constitutional Law, Practice & Democracy. With @anthonymkreis.bsky.social, @andrewwillinger.bsky.social, and Neil Kinkopf, we’ll fight for the rule of law and democracy as Emmet has done for over 60 years. news.gsu.edu/2026/02/26/n...

After an exciting week of presentations by @profloriann.bsky.social and @jctate1215.bsky.social, we’re gearing up to host @yeargain.bsky.social on Monday at Georgia State! Thanks to my colleagues @amwhelan.bsky.social, Ryan Rowberry, and @andrewwillinger.bsky.social for being superb hosts!

On the blog @espinsegall.bsky.social previews the next SCOTUS 2nd Amendment case, US v Hemani, which, he says, can be resolved by narrowly construing the relevant statute to avoid vagueness rather than applying the ridiculous history-and-tradition test its recent 2d Amendment cases have developed. 👇

🚨🚨 Georgia State's Constitutional Law program is growing!🚨🚨 Thanks to a very exciting development, we're looking for someone to join the College of Law's public law faculty, including @espinsegall.bsky.social, @andrewwillinger.bsky.social, Neil Kinkopf, and me. facultycareers.gsu.edu/postings/6611

www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/p...

I blogged on @dukefirearmslaw.bsky.social, where I'll continue to contribute occasional posts as an affiliated scholar, about the gun charges in the Maduro indictment. Check it out below! firearmslaw.duke.edu/2026/01/the-...

I was pleased to contribute this short essay on VanDerStok, ghost guns, and the Trump admin's policy priorities to @theregreview.bsky.social annual Supreme Court recap series! www.theregreview.org/2025/07/23/w...

Check out my blog post @statecourtreport.bsky.social on a new gun decision from the Georgia Supreme Court that asks, in part, what happens to original meaning when state constitutional language is readopted over time... statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

“While many state courts reflexively lockstep…the Kansas Court of Appeals took a different path in a recent gun case due to a lurking complexity unique to the right-to-arms context.” @andrewwillinger.bsky.social discusses the complexity of lockstepping post-Bruen.

Does originalism always work in practice when it filters down to state courts? I blogged @statecourtreport.bsky.social about a recent Kansas case that confronted that issue in the gun rights-context @brennancenter.bsky.social statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Now that it is PrawfsBlawg is official, I want to express my excitement that @andrewwillinger.bsky.social will join GSU's College of Law next year as part of our constitutional law cohort. He's going to be an exceptional addition to our faculty and we look forward to him coming to Atlanta!

“Mel Gibson is a friend of the president and that should be justification enough" - only underscores the need for Congress to resume funding an actual gun rights restoration program that's broadly available, rather than doing this ad hoc based on fame/connections www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

Trump issued an EO on 2/7 directing the AG to assess fed rules, policies, and positions for possible 2nd Amendment violations w/in 30 days - as I suggest here, that the deadline passed with no news shows how gun rights are taking a clear back seat to other priorities. abcnews.go.com/Politics/ag-...

If you've been following this area of law, you will be *shocked* to learn that the judge who invalidated Maine's 72-hour waiting period law on Second Amendment grounds was appointed by...Donald Trump. Good write-up from @andrewwillinger.bsky.social ⬇️ firearmslaw.duke.edu/2025/03/liti...

If you're interested in how the 2nd Trump administration might approach gun issues, particularly in the courts, check out my recent appearance on The Reload podcast with @stephengutowski.bsky.social here: thereload.com/podcast-duke...

So incredibly thrilled that our article, 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, is forthcoming in the online companion of Cᴏʀɴᴇʟʟ Lᴀᴡ Rᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ! I think you all will thoroughly enjoy what @evanbernick.bsky.social, @paulgowder.bsky.social, and I have coming your way!

Enjoyed speaking with Alex Swoyer on her Court Watch podcast about the upcoming SCOTUS argument in Smith & Wesson v. Mexico! @washingtontimes.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...